


`oia`i`o

by assbuttsinlove



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Kisses, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-20
Updated: 2015-10-20
Packaged: 2018-04-27 05:46:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5036161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/assbuttsinlove/pseuds/assbuttsinlove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where Steve and Danny decide to come clean to Chin and Kono about their relationship but Danny gets cold feet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	`oia`i`o

Danny glances at the clock and sighs.

It’s 3:00 am and he can’t seem to fall asleep.  Next to him, Steve, blissfully unaware of his predicament, is fast asleep, snoring lightly, with one hand flung possessively around Danny’s waist.  Danny glances over at his boyfriend and smiles.  Even in the darkness of the room, he can see Steve’s eyelashes fanning out toward him.  He can make out the gentle rise and fall of Steve’s stomach, somehow, in time with the waves rolling on the shore just outside.

Danny remembers being irritated by the sound of the ocean.  It was like a constant reminder of the fact that he wasn’t home.  Now, all these years later, the sound of the waves has become a source of comfort to him.  They remind him of good things, of the first time he and Steve kissed (out on the lanai, sunset), or the night when they finally tumbled into bed together, touching and kissing each other hungrily, unable to believe that the levee had finally burst.

Reluctant to leave Steve’s side, Danny mulls over his options.  He could stay in bed and close his eyes and _hope_ that he’d eventually fall asleep, but it’s already 3:00 am, and he highly doubts that it will work.  He could wake Steve and maybe have sex, which would _probably_ help him fall asleep, but as he glances over at his lover, he realizes he doesn’t want to wake him. After the day he had, the last thing Steve needs is to deal with Danny’s insomnia.

Danny chews on his lip for a moment before finally deciding to head downstairs and maybe make something warm to drink.  He gingerly begins to untangle himself from Steve’s embrace, but Steve holds onto him tighter than before.

“Danno,” Steve mumbles, his voice laced with sleep.

Danny smiles and turns to Steve.  “I’m right here, babe,” he whispers.

Steve blinks and squints at him.  “Can’t sleep?” he asks.  He knows about Danny’s sleeping problems, and even though lately it hasn’t been much of a problem, every now and then it’ll flare up, especially if there’s something on his mind.

Danny shakes his head.  Anxiety gnaws at him, curls in the pit of his stomach, and he takes a deep breath.

“Is this about tomorrow?” Steve asks.

Danny licks his lips and looks away.  What Steve is referring to is their decision to break the news about them being together to Chin and Kono tomorrow at work.  It had been a fun couple of months of sneaking around but they were quickly getting tired of it and were ready to come clean to their friends.

Steve slowly pulls himself up to a sitting position and rubs the sleep out of his eyes.  He scrubs a hand across his face and then turns to face Danny, who is sitting up, back pressed against the headboard.  “We don’t have to do it tomorrow, babe,” he says.  He reaches out for Danny’s hands and they thread their fingers together.

Danny hangs his head, guilt washing over him.  “No, we decided that we would…”

Steve smiles and huffs at him.  “Yeah, we did.  But it’s not set in stone.  If you’re not ready, that’s okay.  It can wait.” He leans in and kisses Danny.  There’s no urgency to it.  It’s soft, feather light, and Danny leans into it thankful for the distraction.

Steve trails his fingers along Danny’s arm, resting his hand on his shoulder for a moment before reaching to cup the back of his neck with his palm.  He slowly kneads his fingers into Danny’s skin, massaging the taut muscles at the base of his neck.  “Breathe with me, Danno,” Steve coaches.  He rubs soothing circles into Danny’s skin all the while guiding him to breathe deeply.

Danny complies and breathes along with Steve.  Years ago he might have snapped something smart at him, but not now.  He needs this now, Steve’s presence, his warmth, and his guidance.  It’s good to have someone else lead the way for a little while, and it feels even better to let all those walls down.  He feels some of the anxiety lessen, and soon, he’s able to breathe freely without his breath hitching in his throat.  He can’t help but feel a twinge of guilt about the whole situation.  He knows how much Steve wants to be free in their relationship, and he wants it too, it just scares him a little more than he would like to admit.  It’s not that he _wants_ to keep their relationship a secret; it’s just that it’s been a secret for so long, it feels safer this way. He wants to keep Steve all to himself, as selfish as it sounds; and he knows the minute they go public with whatever it is they have, things will start to go wrong.  As he breathes with Steve, drawing immense comfort from his partner's broad hand rubbing circles into his back, he wonders how he can express this sentiment to him without hurting his feelings.

"I want to, Steve, trust me, I do," Danny begins.

"You don't have to explain yourself to me," Steve says softly.

Danny smiles gently at him, most of his panic from earlier slowly ebbing away. "I do. I have to."

Steve gazes at him for a moment and then gives him a curt little nod.

Danny licks his lips and looks down. "Every relationship I've been in has failed. That's just the facts. I've come to terms with it, I understand it, it is what it is."

Steve opens his mouth to respond but decides against it. He presses his lips together and waits for Danny to continue.

"I...I don't want to fuck this up, plain and simple. I want you around for as long as I can have you. Which means, like forever."

Steve holds back a smile but urges him to continue.

"I just have this...niggling feeling at the back of my mind that I'll fuck things up somehow. That we'll tell everyone about us and then I'll ruin it and then we won't be _us_ anymore." As the words spill from Danny's lips, he breathes a sigh of relief. He chances a glance up at Steve and almost rolls his eyes when he sees the expression on his face. Steve is staring at him with nothing short of pure adoration in his eyes. "Stop that," Danny says with a little giggle.

Steve grins. "Stop what?" he asks, knowing full and well what he's doing.

"You have _extremely in love_ , face on right now. You know how I feel about extremely in love face."

"You extremely love it?" Steve teases as he leans in for a little kiss.

"Don't try to distract me with kisses, Steven," Danny mumbles.

"It's working isn't it?" Steve asks with a dry laugh.

They kiss for a few more moments, enjoying the easy familiarity they have with each other's mouths. Eventually, Steve breaks it off and scoots over to the headboard so he and Danny are sitting side by side.

"I don't have such a great track record myself, Danno," he says quietly. "But with you...it feels..."

"Right," Danny finishes with a little smile.

Steve nods and reaches out for Danny's hand. They curl their fingers together once more and remain sitting in silence for a few moments.

"Whatever you decide, Danno, I'm here. And you're _not_ going to fuck things up-"

"How do you know that? You got some kind of super SEAL power to see into the future that I don't know about?" he asks, a tight smile on his lips.  

“No…but I know you.  I know the way you love.  It’s so intense, Danny, it’s a beautiful thing.  And so what, your other relationships didn’t work out? I want this.  I want _you_. And we’ll make it work, I swear we will.” Steve rests his head on Danny’s shoulder and closes his eyes.

Danny blinks and his eyes sting. Thankful for the darkness, he closes his eyes. 

Eventually they lie back down; Danny’s back pressed flush against Steve’s chest.  Steve wraps an arm around Danny and hugs him tightly.  He kisses the back of Danny’s neck and smiles. “Whatever you wanna do, Danno. I’m right here with you,” he whispers.

Danny smiles and quickly falls asleep.

* * *

The next afternoon, they all end up at a bar for a drink after closing yet another case.  It’s a balmy Friday night, and Danny can hear the breeze rustling in the coconut trees outside. 

True to his word, Steve hasn’t said a thing about their relationship to Chin or Kono.  Danny had never doubted that Steve wouldn’t keep his promise, but he couldn’t help but throw little glances at him every now and then to see if anything would slip by. 

“Another one bites the dust,” Chin says with a wide grin.  He lifts his beer and they all do the same before taking a drink. 

“It feels good to finally kick back and relax,” Kono says with a content sigh. 

“It sure does,” Steve says with a grin. “I can’t wait to just veg out this weekend.  Watch a couple movies, eat some popcorn, and drink a couple beers.”

Chin and Kono stare at Steve curiously. “Seriously, boss? You veg out?” she teases.

Steve laughs.  “Yeah, I’ve been known to do so every once in a while.”

Chin has a little twinkle in his eye as he takes another sip of his beer.  “Sounds like you’ll have company.  What about you, Danny? Spending the weekend with Grace?”

Danny glances over at Steve and immediately his heart swells in his chest.  Steve is staring at him, a soft smile on his face, love radiating from every pore. Danny feels something flutter in his stomach and he smiles.  “Nah, I ah…I actually met someone and so I’ll be spending the weekend with them.”

“You have time to meet people with all the work we do?” Steve asks with a knowing smile. 

Danny looks at him and then over at Chin and Kono.  He picks up his beer and shrugs.  “Well, I guess it’s a good thing I met him at work then,” he says casually.  He takes a long sip of his beer while Chin and Kono exchange glances. 

“Well, I know for a fact that you’re not dating me,” Chin begins.

“And you’re not dating me,” Kono adds.

Chin and Kono both look at Steve whose face is as red as a cherry tomato.  “Are you guys…”

Steve quickly hoists a confused look onto his face.  “What?” He glances over at Danny, questioningly.  Instead of getting a panicked look, he gets a soft smile. 

“It’s okay, Steve,” he says quietly. He gently reaches out for Steve’s hand and they thread their fingers together. 

“Are you sure?” Steve whispers.

Danny nods and turns back to Chin and Kono. “We’re dating, guys. Steve and I are…dating,” he says simply.

Kono frowns and then she looks over at her cousin. “Well…it looks like I owe you five dollars.”

Chin and Steve look at each other and burst out laughing. 

“You guys placed _bets_?” Danny asks indignantly.

Kono reaches into her bag for her wallet. “You little shit,” she mutters at Chin.

“Unbelievable,” Danny says. Even though he sounds exasperated, he has a large grin on his face. He glances over at Steve who is still laughing with Chin.  He’s still holding on to Danny’s hand tightly. 

“What can I say, I’m good at my job,” Chin says with a little shrug. 

“What tipped you off?” Danny asks curiously.

Chin squints at them and then smiles. “I thought you guys liked each other a long time ago, but what really sealed the deal for me was the Kingsley case we worked a couple months back.”

Danny frowns.  “The Kingsley case?”

Chin nods.  “Yep.  It was something so…little, at first I didn’t think anything of it but then the puzzle pieces just clicked and it all made sense.  It was after you were knocked out, Danny.  Steve was checking on you, making sure you were okay before the paramedics arrived. He brushed your cheek with such…tenderness…it was done in the way I would do it for Malia, so, I knew.”

They all fall into a contemplative silence, Kono smiling at the both of them, soft and gentle, Chin staring at Kono, a little smile on his face, and Steve and Danny staring at each other.

“You know…there’s one thing that is kinda pissing me off about this entire thing,” Danny quips.

“Which is?” Steve asks.

Danny squints at Kono and then at Chin. “You mean to tell me you only bet 5 bucks on us? Not even a 20?” he asks incredulously. 

“Boss man, I’m guessing you have a better way of shutting him up now?” Kono asks with an innocent smile.

A wide grin spreads itself across Steve’s face. “I surely do.”

“Steven, I swear to God, one day you’re just going to turn into a pile of cheese from the amount of cheesy shit you say. I’m going to wake up next to a pile of cheese.”

“You love it,” Steve whispers as he leans in closer. 

As Danny looks into Steve’s eyes, he realizes with dismay that his boyfriend is right.

“You’re a big sap, McGarrett,” Danny says with an affectionate grin. 

“I had to be; to get you to fall in love with me, right?” he whispers.

“Shut up and kiss me, Steven.”

Steve grins and obliges him.

Danny smiles when he hears Kono whooping in the background.  There are butterflies in his stomach but they’re not the anxious kind.  Their wings flutter excitedly around and he realizes that what he’s feeling right now is hope.  Hope for a happy future, hope for a future with Steve.  He realizes that for the first time in a long time, he’s allowing himself to be happy.  Danny never thought the day would come where he would be happy to call this pineapple infested place home, but the truth was that no place ever felt as much as home as when he was wrapped up in Steve’s arms.

He has Grace, and he has Steve. He has great friends, and a job he loves.

Basically, he has everything he needs, and for the first time in a long time, Danny Williams, in the simplest of terms, is good.

**Author's Note:**

> ummm. I hope you enjoyed this. I had fun working on it! :D as always, thoughts and comments are always greatly appreciated!


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